Irene Millicent is an orphan girl who is 15 years old. After the death of her parents, she moved in with her grandmother who later died leaving her under the care of her step grandmother.
Irene came to us in 2007. She wanted to drop out of school and get trained at the centre because she could not afford to go to school.
Sometimes she had to stay away from school, doing chores for people to at least earn money for a meal. This interfered with her learning. So we decided to take her back to school, promising to support her.
 Irene worked hard. She kept to her books at every little opportunity she got, though she still accompanied her grandmother to the shamba. She passed her examinations and is now in secondary school, courtesy of Alice Leahy of Australia.
Alice had come to the Shinners centre in the company of fellow students from Australia. She is a university student and was here on a project in Mutumbu in siaya district, Kenya. She said very little as she listened to Shinners activities and needs. We talked about Irene who was not able to go to school yet as Shinners had run out of funds. The following day, Alice was there ready to sponsor Irene’s education.
It was a happy day for all of us at the Shinners centre. Irene's school fees for the year were paid for. Alice accompanied Irene on her first day at school.
We call Alice “Mama Irene”. She just smiles about it and sometimes nods her head in denial... |
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